Tremolo-piano.



UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

PAOLO POMERO, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

TREIVlOLO-PiANO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 715,860, dated December 1 1 2- Application filed July 9, 1902. Serial No. 114,956- NO odel) To (tZZ whom, it may concern.

Be it known that I, PAOLO POMERO, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Tremolo-Piano, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in mechanical pianos, and has for its principal object to provide an improved form of instrument in which a tremolo effect may be produced and in which all of the operating parts of the mechanism will be convenient of access for examination, adjustment, anti repairs. Devices of this class, especially when used for street-pianos, require frequent adjustment to compensate for climatic changes, and in the present instance it is desired to so construct and arrange the parts as to permit of ready adjustment of the hammers, the hammer-actuating levers, and other portions of the operating mechanism without removing any part of the action or disturbing the position of the hammer-actuating cylinder or cylinders.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanyin drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional elevation of a mechanical piano constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention, the parts being illustrated in operative position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of the instrument, the section being taken in a plane at a right angle to that of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, the parts being shown in inoperative position. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the device, illustrating the arrangement of the operating mechanism.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

10 designates a suitable casing having a shaft 11, to which is secured a pin-barrel 12, having the usual pins or pegs 13, provided at intervals with wider pins or blocks 14E at points Where it is desired to produce a trilling effect. Mounted above and partly to the rear of the pin-barrel is atoothed cylinder 16, the

teeth 17 of which are arranged at equidistant points on the periphery of the cylinder. The pin-barrel .and cylinder may be driven by a suitable motor; but in the present case there is shown an operating-crank 19, mounted on a worm-shaft 20, the worm intermeshing with a worm-wheel 21 on the shaft of the pin-barrel. The inner end of the worm-shaft is engaged by a spring-pressed block 25, which serves to hold the worm and worm-wheel in mesh, and at the extreme end of said wormshaft is a bevel-gear 24, intermeshing with a pinion 25 on a vertical shaft 26, said shaft being further provided with a bevel-pinion 27, intermeshing with a gear 28 at the end of the cylinder 16. The gearing connections are such that the pin-barrel and cylinder are simultaneously rotated in opposite directions, the cylinder traveling at a much greater rate of speed than the pin-barrel.

At a point above and to the rear of the cylinder 16 is a hammer-supporting bar 30, ex-

tending for the full width of the casing immediately in front of the spring and serving as a support for a series of hammer-carrying levers 31. Each lever 31 is provided with a depending arm 32, having an inclined recess 33 on its inner face and normally pressed in the direction of the lever 31 by spring 34:, contact between the arm and lever being prevented by a small block 35, of felt or similar material, such as is commonly used in pianoactions. The lower end of each arm 32 carries a small roller 36,which at times is moved into the path of movement of the pins 17 and being held in operative position with relation to said teeth for any desired length of time. When in operative position, the hammer is repeatedly actuated by the pins and moved against the stress of a spring 37 any desired number of times, the length of time which the same note is sounded being governed by the width of the pins or blocks on the pinbarrel.

At a point between the pin-barrel and the cylinder 16 is a continuous cross-bar 40, carried by the frame and serving as a support for a series of pivoted bars 41, having depending teeth 42, adapted to be engaged by the pins and blocks on the periphery of the pin-barrel and held in contact each by a sep-- arate spring 43. At the rear end of each 10- ver 41 is pivoted an upwardly-extending bar 44, having an angular head 45, adapted to fit between the hammer-lever 31 and its depending arm 32. When the angular head 15 isin the position shown in Fig. 1, between the lower portions of the hammer-lever and its arm, the arm is forced in the direction of the toothed cylinder 16, and as the latter rotates the teeth act successively on the roller 36, moving the same to the rear and forcing the lower end of the hammer in the direction of the strings against the stress of the tensionspring 37. After each tooth passes beyond the roller 36 the hammer-lever is returned to normal position by the spring and the hammer brought forcibly into contact with the wire. The position of the arm 44 is governed by the pins and blocks on the pin-barrel, and when the tooth 42 is resting against the periphery of the pin-barrel between two pins or blocks the angular head 45 of arm 41 is seated in a recess 33 of the arm, and the latter is moved to the inoperable position, (shown in Fig. 2,) roller 36 being then out of the path of movement of the cylinder-teeth. W'hen the hammer is to be operated but once, a single pin or peg of the ordinary type momentarily effects the depression of the arm 4A and holds the roller 36 in operative position for the passage of a single tooth 17. For a sustained or tremolo effect the block 14: of the pin-barrel is made of a desired length to hold the roller 36 for any length of time in operative relation to the teeth 17. The hammer is then vibrated continuously at equidistant intervals to continuously sound the same note.

One of the principal advantages of the structure herein illustrated and described is the convenience with which the parts may be examined,adj.usted,andrepaired. The whole of the action is exposed to view as soon as the usual door or lid at the front of the pianocasing is opened, and, if necessary, the small cylinder 16 may be readily removed; but this will not generally be necessary for ordinary repairs. The pin-barrel may remain in position during the adjustment of any portion of the action, and liability of injnryfrom this source is therefore avoided.

By arranging the cylinder above the pinbarrel I am enabled to materially reduce the width of the instrument, the casing being comparatively narrow and permitting the ready transportation of the instrument from place to place.

While the construction herein described, and illustrated in the accompanyingd rawings, is the preferred form of the device, it is obvious that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a device of the class specified, a revoluble pin-barrel, a toothed cylinder, a pivoted hammerlever, a depending arm pivoted to the hammer-lever and having a rolleradapted to be moved into operative relation to the cylinder, a pivoted lever movable by the pinbarrel, an arm carried by said lever and normally occupying an inactive position between the hammer-lever and its depending arm, said arm being movable by the action of the pin-barrel to effect the adjustment of the roller to operative position, substantially as specified.

2. In adevice of the class specified, the combination with a pin-barrel, of alever pivoted above said barrel and actuated thereby, a toothed cylinder revolubly mounted above the pin barrel, a hammerlever mounted wholly above the pin-barrel and provided with a depending arm having a roller movable into operative relation to the toothed cylinder, and a pivoted arm carried by the barrel-actuating lever and normally occupying an inoperative position in a recess between the hammer-lever and its arm, said pivoted arm being movable to separate or space the hammer-lever and its arm and move the roller into operative relation to the toothed cylinder.

3. In a device of the class specified, the combination with a pin-barrel, of a revolublymounted toothed cylinder and a piano-action all mounted and arranged in a plane above the periphery of the pin-barrel, said action comprising a pivotally-mounted barrel-actuated lever, a pivoted arm carried thereby and provided at its upper end with an angular head, a pivoted hammer-lever, a depending ar-m carried thereby and provided with an angular recess for the reception of the angular head of said pivoted arm, and a roller carried by the depending arm and movable into and out of operable relation to the toothed cylinder.

4. Ina device of the class specified, the combination with a pin-barrel, of a worm-Wheel secured to the pin-barrel, a worm in engagement with said worm-wheel, means for actuating the worm and its shaft, a bevel-gear carried by the worm-shaft, a vertical shaft having upper and lower bevel pinions of which the lower intermeshes with said bevelgear, an auxiliary toothed cylinder, a bevelgear carried thereby and intermeshing with the upper bevel-pinion, a pivoted lever arranged above and actuated by the pin-barrel, an upwardly-extending pivoted arm carried by said lever and providedwith an angular head 15, a pivoted hammer-lever, a depending arm carried thereby and provided with a recess 33 for the reception of said angular head, and a roller 36 carried by the depending arm and movable into and out of operable relation to the toothed cylinder.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PAOLO POMERO.

Witnesses:

E. PRAMELLA, P. MoRELLI. 

